Country music legend Reba McEntire is back in the studio with new projects, all while still keeping her hot romance alive with beau Anthony “Skeeter” Lasuzzo

Reba, 63, is a cowgirl who sang and barrel-raced at rodeos while growing up in Oklahoma. She probably never dreamed she’d someday have a four-plus-decade career in music, TV, film, and the Broadway stage. But the secret to her success, she says, is simple: “Be different. Stand out, and work your butt off!”

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And that she does. Not only is she back in the studio recording a new album, but the singer keeps extra busy these days with TV special hosting duties, running a business empire that includes her own boot and clothing lines, and looking for her next big acting challenge. 

While balancing all that, she makes plenty of time for her boyfriend, Anthony, whom she started dating last year. “I know a lot of people have prayed for me for the last two or three years knowing I was going through a rough time,” she says, referring to her shocking and painful divorce from ex-husband Narvel Blackstock in 2015, “but I have to say I’m probably happier now than I’ve been in a long, long time.”

Anthony, a retired oil executive and nature photographer, is a big reason for her recent state of bliss. “He adores her,” an insider revealed to Closer Weekly, “and he’s not threatened by her success. Instead, he revels in it.” The perfectly matched duo’s inner circle even speculates that wedding bells may not be far off. “She tells friends they’re taking it day by day,” the insider shares, “but with Reba, you never know! She’s very happy and in love, and that’s a good place to be.”

Her new music is likely to reflect the joy she’s found. “She’s keeping a lot about her new CD a mystery,” the insider notes, “but while she loves a good old-fashioned country heartbreak song, there’s bound to be a love song or two as well. I know she’s written some already for Skeeter.”

Reba’s also excited about working on a new TV project. “We’ve got several writers developing things for me, and I’m always looking for a comedy,” says Reba, who’s reportedly in talks to join the upcoming Designing Women reboot. “I’d love to do a good ol’ Western movie, too, and I’d love to do more Broadway,” says Reba, who starred in the title role in Annie Get Your Gun on the Great White Way in 2001.

Reba dishes her golden rule on how she keeps her career successful: “You have to keep thinking about how to keep things fresh,” Reba says of her knack for mixing things up.” After all, she adds, “I never want to disappoint my fans.” 

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